<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-7">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page WordSection1
{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;
margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EL link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>Dear Matthias and list members,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>According to my POV, documentation is of fundamental importance to software development!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>I have sent messages to this list at least 2 times in the past, regarding aspects of this particular subject. The responses I got: 0!!!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>What I have learned in my Postgraduate Studies is that BEFORE, but also WHILE developing a Software Project (like QGIS) or a Database (like a GIS) it is essential to build a conceptual model of the system. This should be done both on static and functional basis.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>My immediate concern at this time is the model of Geometric Networks. I want to build some fleet tracking tools that use sequential GPS signals to calculate vehicle passes through points, trajectories, routing etc. So, I started modelling the QGIS library classes that I thought were relevant to my subject. This is an ongoing work, and I have modelled a few classes, their relationships, but also some use cases and functions. I am using UML notation for this task. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>Note, that I am not using UML to automatically produce code. This is a misconception, I think, of UML and its purpose in developing systems. I use modeling purely for overview and documentation reasons, as I am not a hard-core coder, but rather a GIS designer/engineer.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>These being said, I think this modeling process can help with various issues of QGIS development, including (but not limited to):<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>- Layers and sublayers programmatical handling<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>- Grouping and programmatical access of tools like SEXTANTE (and also other plugins)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>- API documentation (not the automatic one, but rather a manually updated one, addressing all relevant issues to specific classes and methods).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>- Connection between classes of different libraries (GDAL, QGIS, Qt etc.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>I hope that was a neat introduction to my thoughts about how GIS systems should be documented! I also REALLY hope it gets some attention this time!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>IF any of you think we can do some introductory work on QGIS documentation (be it the actual API, GUI elements or any other part of the project) using modern UML annotation and tools, please feel free to contact me with details and ideas. I am willing to volunteer a few hours each week towards making the QGIS project better, and documentation is the first step.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>I am also open to conversations on this subject (a blog/forum would be REALLY helpful there) and opinion sharing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>Hoping this message will strike some strings,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:#1F497D'>Petros Apotsos<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:#1F497D'>Rural & Surveying Engineer<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:#1F497D'>Technical Chamber of Greece Registry Number 96798<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:#1F497D'>Ô</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:#1F497D'>: 2310 220345<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:#1F497D'>F: 2310 220346<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:#1F497D'>Ermou 18A, Postal Code 54624<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:#1F497D'>Thessaloniki, GREECE<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div> <BR><BR>__________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 8242 (20130418) __________<BR><BR>The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.<BR><BR><A HREF="http://www.eset.com">http://www.eset.com</A><BR> </body></html>